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Embassy:Night
Alternative Names: Lords/Ladies of the Night, Moon Knights :Informal Name: Night Witches :How beautiful is night! :A dewy freshness fills the silent air, :No mist obscures, no little cloud :Breaks the whole serene of heaven: :In full-orbed glory the majestic moon :Rolls thro the dark blue depths. :Beneath her steady ray :The desert circle spreads, :Like the round ocean, girdled with the sky. :How beautiful is night! ::—''Thalaba the Destroyer'' by Robert Southey The night is a time of peace and rest. It is a time of beauty, when the world is recast in grey and silver. So why then, do people fear the night? Why do people hide from it behind closed doors and electric lights? It is because the night cloaks thieves and monsters in darkness, its beauty is hidden away behind walls of fear and danger. Walls that the Embassy has sworn to break down. Champions fighting evil by moonlight still form the bulk of the Embassy to the Night, and while linguistic drift is inevitable most Princesses still consider the name “Night Witch” to refer exclusively to the Embassy’s Champions. After Champions, Seekers and Troubadours are drawn to the Embassy. Seekers use the cover of night to go where they shouldn’t and uncover the secrets therein while Troubadours express the beauty of the world after sunset. Swords form the most common Court, because that Court has a large supply of Champions and because its rugged independence is well suited to action when the rest of the world is sleeping. The Court of Clubs is over-represented among the Embassy’s Troubadours for the Wilds are the Court most likely to appreciate natural beauty. The Graces in the Embassy are most likely to be Spades and hold court among urban nightlife. Marks and Requirements A Night Witch’s regalia blends with the night. Dark colors predominate; black or brown, olive or teal, navy or purple. Ornaments and weapons sparkle from folds of cloth, which can close over and conceal them. Frequently the Witch is masked as well. In addition the Night seeps into the Night Witch’s magic. Her Charms never create light as a secondary effect. (For example, if the Princess invokes Towering Inferno it will burn with the ethereal blues and silvers of the night sky and shed almost no light.) Charms that are intended to create light are unaffected, though their appearance may change appropriately. The Embassy considers the night to be peaceful and secretive, and they embrace that within themselves. Its required Attribute is Composure, and its required Skill is Stealth. Secretary Privileges Wearing Midnight Under the cover of night the Princesses becomes exceptionally hard to find. By spending a Wisp the Secretary veils herself; for the rest of the scene, all attempts to locate or notice her through mundane or magical means take a penalty equal to her Composure. Daughter of the Moon While she is transformed the Princess can see perfectly in the darkest nights. She takes no penalty to her dice pools from lack of light, unless cut off entirely from the sky. In addition she acquires vitamin D from moonlight and starlight as though she was out during daytime and never suffers adverse psychological effects such as Seasonal Affective Disorder from going too long without seeing sunlight. Guide on the Moon’s Roads By spending a Wisp the Secretary may grant the benefits of Daughter of the Moon to another person. The effect lasts until they next see sunlight; videos and remote viewing charms do not count though a telescope would. Consul Privileges Left Eye of Horus As a guardian of the night the Consul’s gaze sees all miscreants and misdeeds that hide within her domain. When rolling to penetrate or contest stealth or subterfuge (both the Skills and the concepts) the transformed Consul adds her Stealth dots to her dice pool. The Consul needs to be able to make a roll to benefit from this privilege. Sister to the Sunset By spending a Wisp while transformed and touching another person, the transformed Consul may grant them the benefits of Wearing Midnight for the rest of the scene. Ambassador Privilege Witchlight Dawn At the apex of the Embassy’s power night and day are hers to command. By spending 3 Wisps and a point of Willpower the Ambassador sheds witchlight around herself for the rest of the scene (though it fails prematurely if she steps away from the night sky.) This light is invisible to mundane eyes - instead it turns magics of the day or night to her benefit. Any supernatural being within the Ambassador’s line of sight that is affected by daytime, nighttime, sunlight, moonlight or starlight (but not a more specific time like noon or the witching hour) and any supernatural ability affected by one of these conditions acts as though it were under whatever condition works to the Ambassador’s best advantage, even if she is unaware of it. A changeling defending innocents may find his contracts with the Sun blazing to full power at midnight, while a vampire looking for food may discover that starlight burns like the sun. Drawback: The Princess becomes a true creature of the night, and shuns the daystar. During daytime she takes a -1 penalty to Wits- and Composure-based dice pools, becoming cranky and slow as though she was sleep deprived. In the presence of direct sunlight this penalty increases to -3. Unsurprisingly most Night Witches sleep through the day in a darkened room.